Harvest Moon in the Afternoon
by ACE329
Summary: It was supposed to be an ordinary, mundane high school field trip. But things never turn out as expected, do they? Yuugi and his friends find themselves left behind at a rest stop…in the middle of nowhere! But there's far more out there than cornfields…


Harvest Moon in the Afternoon

**By:** ACE329

**Disclaimer**: I do NOT own Yugioh! It strictly belongs to Kazuki Takahashi.

**Summary:** It was supposed to be an ordinary, mundane high school field trip. But things never turn out as expected, do they? Yuugi and his friends find themselves left behind at a rest stop…in the middle of nowhere! But there's far more out there than cornfields…slight AU

**A/N:** …So I know I should be writing the next chapter of Ryou's Story. I know, I know, I know! I'm working on it, I promise! But who doesn't appreciate a seasonal fanfiction with our favorite characters?

FYI, This is my first semi-intense horror-fic so please read with an open mind. I'm pretty sure I won't get anywhere with this story in time for Halloween, but hopefully by then I'll get a few chapters up.

**Harvest Moon in the Afternoon**

**Chapter One- Stranded**

An empty road stretches past dying cornfields in the sweltering heat, the stalks dry and brittle as they reach for a colorless sky. Everything remains eerily still, as if bound by the sun's throbbing heat, silently begging for a reprieve. A gust of wind, maybe a wisp of cloud to blot out the sun.

Then, a figure emerges from the horizon.

It moves slowly and deliberately, an inky splotch against a dull canvas. The figure is a man, concealed in a long, black robe despite the heat. He trudges along the road as silently as the world around him, every withering grass blade, every clout of dust frozen in anticipation. Silence.

A crow screeches from above, shattering the trance the cloaked man has cast. He stops.

Slowly, slowly, the man draws back his hood, revealing a mass of dusty blond hair, stringy and plastered to his sharp jaw bone from the heat, as he tilts his head to look at the dead sky. His unreadable violet eyes follow the soaring black bird, a moment of thought passing before he takes out a Jericho 941 pistol. Casually, he cocks the gun and pulls the trigger, watching in mild satisfaction as the crow drops into a cornfield. The echo of the gunshot still rattles the air, ringing out for miles and miles.

A smirk stretches the corners of the man's mouth.

"Yuugi…I'm coming for you."

* * *

A paper airplane sails through the air in a long, continuous stream before twirling and sky-diving into the head of Seto Kaiba. The teen barely flinches before his hand comes up to retrieve the annoyance from its landing spot—his shoulder—and crushes it in his palm. A groan erupts from a few seats back.

"What the hell, Kaiba?" Jounouchi cries indignantly as he snatches up the wrinkled paper from the ground, where it was just flung a moment ago. "Why'd you do that for, huh?"

"Stay in your seats!" A gangly woman screeches from the driver's seat. "What is this, a circus?" She grumbles a few obscenities about "teenaged brats being unable to follow rules" before falling back into her concentrated silence while speeding past a few cars.

A wry smirk forms on Kaiba's lips. "You heard the woman—sit." His tone indicates that it is an order, comparable to how a master would command a dog.

The blond teen trembles with rage. "You know, why don't I come back over there and shove this airplane right up your sorry a—"

"Jounouchi!" Anzu interrupts harshly, grabbing his arm. "Stop giving him satisfaction out of your anger. Just ignore him!"

Kaiba shrugs at this remark. "Excuse me, but I was minding my own business until Amelia Earhart over there decided to launch an airplane at my head."

"It was an accident!" Jounouchi bristles.

"I hope you can keep your balance as well as you lie," Kaiba replies off-handedly.

"How dare you—um, what?" Jounouchi questions right before the bus driver makes a wild turn to the left onto another road, narrowly avoiding a passing car. In turn, the teen, who is still in the aisle, flounders for a bit before crashing into Honda.

"Hey, watch it, man!" Honda accompanies his statement with a shove in Jounouchi's side. "Save your energy for the camping trip, yeah?"

"Don't remind me," Jounouchi grumbles as he plops down next to his friend, despite the irritated look on his face. "I never wanted to go on this stupid trip."

"But the wilderness is where you _belong_," Kaiba pipes up, despite not even turning to look at Jounouchi. He knew the teen could hear his insults miles away.

"Who asked you?" Jounouchi remarks bitterly. Suddenly, he breaks out into a grin. "Hey, I bet you're the one looking forward to this trip the most, Mr. CEO. Being out in the wild, hunting for food, taking a leak in the bushes—"

"Don't be crude," Anzu chastises from a seat behind Jounouchi.

He ignores her, still building momentum. "And the best part of it all is, you actually tried to bargain your way out of the trip! For once you didn't get your way—tell me, how does it feel?"

Kaiba grits his teeth, his mind reeling back to that one agonizing moment during Lifetime Fitness when the gym teacher, Mr. Hirayumi, revealed the class field trip of the semester. In the past a hiking trip would have sufficed, but this time he had different plans. It would be a week-long trip, focusing on the "beauty" of nature and "engaging" outdoor activities that could keep one in physical shape, such as rock climbing. Of course, one extra stipulation has to be dealt with as well—every student is responsible for their own food supply. Kaiba remembers shooting up his hand the moment the teacher announced this, claiming that he had too many obligations to be away for an entire week.

"Mr. Kaiba, if you refuse to go on this trip, then I'm going to have to fail you," Mr. Hirayumi said, staring unflinchingly into the horrified teen's eyes. "Your money can't get you out of this one, I'm afraid." It was as if a death sentence had been thrust upon him, and he couldn't help but notice the eerie quiet that had fallen over the gym. For once, this was an assignment he couldn't get out of. Perhaps if he were more willing to participate in any of the activities that went on throughout the semester, the teacher would have been more negotiable. He would have to admit that maybe it wouldn't have killed him to kick around a softball or two…particularly if they were aimed at Jounouchi's head…

But right now he is faced with the issue of what to say to the smug face that is staring at him expectantly.

"Well, Kaiba? You feeling good about this trip?" Jounouchi queries as he leans over from his seat. "When we get there, you better sleep with one eye open 'cause the wolves might come out and eat you!"

"Are you the so-called leader of the pack, then?" Kaiba asks coolly. "Mutt?"

An explosion of spiky hair slowly rises from the seat behind Jounouchi, right before he is about to break out into a slew of curses. "Hey guys?" The owner to the wild hair is Yuugi, staring at them with a pleading look. "Can we not fight for the whole trip? Everyone's shooting you two really dirty looks."

"Hey, if people gotta problem with me, they better tell it to my face," Jounouchi says brusquely. His eyes scan the bus. "See, Bakura's got the right idea over there." He gestures to the ear buds hanging from the oblivious teen's head. "He doesn't mind the noise."

Bakura hits the "pause" button on his Ipod, glancing up at the eyes that had turned to him. "Huh? What?" he asks, his wide eyes clueless.

Jounouchi waves him off. "Forget about it. But I guess you're right Yuug, I'll try to ignore the arrogant jerk-wad for everyone's sake."

Kaiba grumbles something inaudible while Yuugi beams. "Thanks, Jou." His eyes briefly flick to his seat partner. "So Anzu thinks we're going to arrive at the camping spot in about two hours."

"Two hours?" Jounouchi moans despairingly. Anzu nods, her blue eyes curious. "Why does it matter?" she asks. "That's not really so bad, and we've only been on the road for a little over forty-five minutes."

The teen bites his lip as he glances at both his friends. "I've gotta go to the bathroom."

Anzu palms her face as Yuugi lifts his eyebrows. "Again? You went right before we left!"

"Yeah, what exactly have you been drinking?" Anzu demands. She eyes the empty can of an energy drink that has been carelessly tossed to the floor, one that doesn't look too reassuring with the skull and crossbones stamped on the front. "Oh God, Jounouchi, really? Why?"

"Hey, there is no way I'm going to sleep on the way there," Jounouchi replies. He kicks the empty can farther away so he won't have to pick it up later. "And besides, I'm hoping Kaiba will doze off so I can get back at him."

"For?" Yuugi inquires.

"Well for calling me a mutt _again_, Yuug! Obviously." Jounouchi folds his arms, giving Honda a nudge with his elbow while doing so. "And Honda here's gonna help me out."

Honda tiredly blinks at his friend. "With what…?"

"Hey! Were you sleeping or something?" Jounouchi demands, reaching out to give Honda's arm a shake. "You can't conk out on me now! Geez, we just got on here."

Honda bats Jounouchi's hand off. "Yeah, and? We all got like, what, maybe three hours of sleep last night?"

"It wasn't exactly the smartest idea to be hanging out so late," Yuugi offers. "I mean, it was fun and everything…"

"No, that was exactly why we did it!" Jounouchi says. "Because who cares about this stupid camping trip anyway?"

A crackling throughout the bus indicates that the old speaker system has been turned on. "_Mr. Jounouchi, I'm going to have to ask you to please respect your other classmates by quieting down_." The firm voice belongs to Mr. Hirayumi, who turns from the front seat to stare the teen down.

"Er, sorry," Jounouchi calls to the front. He frowns at his friends. "D'you think he heard the part when I said—"

"—_that this is a stupid camping trip?_" the voice from the speaker supplies. A snicker ripples throughout the bus. "_Yes, Mr. Jounouchi, we all heard you loud and clear_."

"As per usual," Kaiba growls.

"Keep your obnoxious comments to yourself!" Jounouchi retorts.

"Likewise."

Jounouchi goes on to say something else, but this time Kaiba doesn't bother to respond. Unlike the rambunctious teen seething a few seats diagonally behind him, Kaiba has the reserve to silence himself.

Honda glares at Jounouchi. "Dude, if you're gonna be like this the whole time, I'm just going to sit next to Otogi instead."

Yuugi peeks from over his seat again. "Don't worry Honda, I'm sure the energy drink will wear off on him eventually!"

This causes Jounouchi's eyes to light up. "Which reminds me. Hey, Bus driver! _Bus driver!_"

"What?" the frazzled lady snarls. She barely glances in her rearview mirror.

"Where's the nearest rest stop? We gotta go to the bathroom!"

"We?" the trio of friends demands incredulously.

The speaker turns on again. "_Mr. Jounouchi, you're not the one who decides when we can take a break. Again, please __**sit quietly**__._"

"But damn it, it's an emergency!" Jounouchi protests.

"Should have thought of that before we left," Anzu mumbles. Surprisingly, Mr. Hirayumi gives a different response. "_We'll pull over at the nearest rest stop. Everyone, prepare to get off in ten minutes_."

Yuugi grins at Jounouchi. "I think you finally wore him down."

"More like he wanted Jou to shut up," Honda says. He ignores the glare from his seat partner to glance at the road signs. "But anyway, do you guys know where we're at? I don't recognize this area."

"Well that would make sense, considering that we're heading off to a more secluded area," Anzu replies. "This is a camping trip, after all."

"Did you happen to notice the color of the sky?" The small group turns to the new voice, which belongs to Bakura. Somehow he has slipped into the seat across from Yuugi and Anzu's without the cranky bus driver calling him out on it. He gives them an expectant look, as if his impulsive joining of the conversation is the same as if he had been talking to them the whole time.

Yuugi blinks. "What about the color?" Leave it to Bakura to bring up such a random topic.

The ghostly-pale teen warms up with a smile. "Do you see that greenish cast off in the distance?" He points to the area close to the horizon, his eyes holding an unusual degree of interest.

"Yeah…"

"A violent storm is coming." Bakura scans the group's reaction, only to see their confusion.

Jounouchi speaks first. "Okay man, first of all, what? And second of all, that makes absolutely no—"

"Oh wait, I think I know what he's talking about," Anzu interrupts. She folds her arms thoughtfully. "It's a myth that when the sky turns green a tornado will come."

"A _tornado_?" Yuugi squeaks, horrified.

"Well, _that_ part's the myth," Bakura answers calmly. "The tornado part, I mean. But really, when the sky's that color it means there's going to be a huge storm. Sort of complicates our field trip, don't you think?" The teen's closed-lip smile lights up his face again, yet the group has no idea what it implies. As usual, Bakura's mannerisms are unreadable.

"For something that sounds like bad news, you seem awfully excited," Honda notes, a tad suspicious.

"That's because I am," Bakura says. His cedar eyes flash. "Storms are beautiful."

A collective chill runs down the group's spines.

"Well, best get back to my seat before the bus driver takes notice," Bakura comments cheerfully. "See you when we get off!" As if he has said nothing foreboding, he happily slips back into his seat, which remains isolated towards the back of the bus. The group eyes one another as Bakura pops his ear buds back in place, oblivious to the world once more.

"That kid…" Honda begins, shaking his head. Yuugi just laughs, even if a touch nervously. "That's Bakura for you," the shorter teen remarks. Suddenly, his face grows more serious. "But what if he's right? About the storm?"

"Nah," Jounouchi drawls, waving his friend off. "Don't pay attention to that. You can't predict weather based on the color of the _sky_." Seeing the dubious expressions on his friends' faces, he continues. "Come on, we all know Bakura's got a few screws loose." Anzu shoots the blond a warning look, who in turn shrugs innocently.

"Well, in the case that Bakura _is_ right," Yuugi presses, "Does that mean our trip will be canceled?"

"Yuugi, be reasonable," Honda says. "We could be in the midst of the apocalypse—"

"—With acid rain," Anzu adds.

"—And nuclear attacks," Jounouchi tacks on.

"And still, we would have to go through this trip," Honda finishes. "Dangerous or not."

The group breaks out into a hesitant laugh, silencing only when a peal of thunder rips through the air.

* * *

"I feel so much better!" Jounouchi exclaims as he gives Honda a cheerful punch in the arm. "Thank God we got here in time, or I would've—"

"Wet the carpet?" Kaiba cuts in as he passes by, a jeer twisting his features.

"Get over it already!" Jounouchi yells, inwardly debating if lunging at him would be worth it. "That joke is so old, man! I get it—you think I'm a dog. But _you're_ an asshole!"

"And yet, look how angry you get each time," Kaiba replies. "'Man.'" He chuckles faintly at the fury darkening the blond's face, wasting no time in talking to him any longer. He continues on his way, trench coat rippling behind him.

"God, I know I don't ask for much, so if you could just trip Seto Kaiba right now, I'll forever be in your debt," Jounouchi prays out loud, looking up towards the sky with a perfectly serious expression. Soon after, the sky rumbles menacingly, a flash of lightening making the teen wince.

"Guess that answers your prayers," Honda teases. "And I'm thinking that means no."

"What means no?" Yuugi queries as he pops up behind the two. He is accompanied by Anzu, who looks slightly worried.

"Nothing, just wishful thinking," Honda answers. Jounouchi frowns, his eyes trained on the teen CEO's back. "No, Kaiba's just the biggest slime out there, that's all. If karma were real, you'd think he'd be struck down with lightening by now."

"You should never wish that on anybody," Anzu says. "How would you feel if something bad actually happened to him?"

Jounouchi doesn't hesitate. "Pretty damn good, actually." A snicker escapes from Honda's mouth while Yuugi sighs.

"You know," Anzu starts, ignoring the blond's response, "This is a really weird place to have a rest stop. It's in the middle of nowhere, and you can't see anything but cornfields surrounding the area."

"It _is_ sort of strange that it'd be here," Yuugi agrees. A quick glance around easily proves that the place hasn't been occupied in a while. Not a single vehicle resides in the small, gravel parking lot except the bus, and little else covers the area besides a dingy restroom for each gender.

Anzu follows along with Yuugi's trail of thought. "This place is terrible. I don't know why we stopped here. I could hardly tell which restroom I was heading in because the lettering was mostly chipped off."

Honda shifts his weight, his face mirroring similar sentiments. "At the same time though, I doubt there would be anything around here for a while." A short distance away, the group hears Mr. Hirayumi calling out for the class to be back in the bus in five minutes.

Right then, another burst of light erupts from the sky, followed by a blast of thunder.

Anzu holds out her palm. "It's starting to rain."

"What did I tell you?" Bakura pipes up suddenly, appearing behind the group. They turn to look at him. "We are indeed in the midst of a storm."

"Nothing but a pair of sprinkler jets," Jounouchi replies dismissively. "It'll pass soon." A cackle from the sky proves otherwise as the wind begins to pick up.

"Ooh, it's going to be a bad one," Bakura hums, rocking back on his heels.

Anzu shivers. "It must have dropped at least ten degrees." Yuugi glances over before shrugging off his jacket. He hands it to her, as she gratefully accepts. "I think Bakura is right."

Bakura's eyes narrow dangerously. "Of _course_ I'm right." The group gives the pale teen a double-take, the thought crossing their minds that it might be the _other _Bakura talking. The moment soon passes though, as the teen stares back at them with his blinking doe eyes. "What?"

Yuugi shakes his head. "Maybe we should just head back to the bus. Everyone's getting ready to leave anyway." At the foot of the bus entrance, Mr. Hirayumi is holding a clipboard, checking off the names of students as they pack in. He glances over at the group and beckons them over.

"Come on guys," Anzu says as she begins to head in the direction of the teacher. This place is really giving her the creeps and she wants to be back in the bus as soon as possible. She'd take a cramped, dirty vehicle with a cantankerous bus driver any day over this eerie rest stop.

She stops only when she notices that her friends aren't following, and inwardly groans as her eyes catch sight of Kaiba standing before Jounouchi with his arms folded. They are fighting _again_. But why, though? Hasn't Kaiba already make it back into the bus?

_Will it ever stop…?_

"It's one thing to be mindlessly throwing around paper airplanes," Anzu hears Kaiba icily declare to the blond, "but entirely another when you leave _your _trash under my seat."

"Listen, I didn't do it intentionally," Jounouchi says heatedly. "Although come to think of it, maybe I should have!"

"Not helping, Jou," Yuugi quietly chimes in.

"And on top of that, it's only an empty soda can!" Jounouchi rants. He shoots Kaiba another disdainful glance. "You're lucky I didn't 'accidentally' spill milk over your stupid briefcase! Who takes a briefcase on a camping trip, anyway?"

Kaiba straightens his stance. "Unlike low-class scum like you, I have a business to run and need to carry a laptop with me at all times. I'm not about to let this waste of a field trip ruin my company."

"Hey, there's something you can both agree on," Yuugi says. "Neither of you want to be here, what a coincidence! Now on that note, maybe we can stop the fighting and move on!"

Both Kaiba and Jounouchi ignore the shorter teen's attempt to maintain the peace.

"If you're so rich, why don't you hire someone to temporarily run the company then?" Jounouchi demands. "Or if you're going to be a cheap-ass, why don't you let Mokuba do something for once?"

"Yes, how about that?" Kaiba says. "A child could easily run a company with far more competence than you, who happens to be half a decade older. Although it wouldn't be hard, considering your intelligence is barely that of a—"

"Don't say it," Jounouchi warns.

Kaiba lifts his eyebrows. "Say what? A _dog_?"

Perhaps it's the constant provoking that factors into the response Jounouchi gives. It could have been the fact he never wanted to go on the trip, or never got more than a few hours of sleep the other night. Regardless, when Jounouchi literally dives at Kaiba, everyone is overcome with shock.

"Jounouchi!" Anzu shrieks. Bakura lifts a hand to his mouth, while Yuugi winces. Honda, at least, summons up enough resolve to reach out and pull back his friend, yet swipes at empty air when he realizes that Jounouchi has moved too quickly.

As for Kaiba, he steps aside just in time to miss the enraged teen's swinging fist. Another one comes hurtling towards him soon after Kaiba begins to laugh in his usual condescending way.

He easily ducks. "For a street punk, you fight like a grandmother." He takes a step back, narrowly missing a swift kick from the side.

"Stop moving and fight back, you coward!" Jounouchi hisses, his fist missing its target once more. This infuriates him even further, and this time he doesn't hear his friends trying to call him back. All he is aware of is that ever-smirking Kaiba, and how much he wants to hurt him.

In the midst of their fighting, both teens fail to notice how far away they move from the bus. It begins to rain even harder, the droplets now pelting the ground with more force. An explosion of thunder rips through the air.

"I'm tired of you, Kaiba," Jounouchi says as he makes another swipe at the teen. "I'm tired of how you always have to make fun of me, even though I never do anything wrong. You've always been an asshole, but you're the worst with me!"

Kaiba looks unfazed, sidestepping yet another attack. "You deserve it, mutt. Your type pisses me off, always acting tough when you really have nothing to back it up. You say you're a duelist when all you do is jump on the bandwagon to Yuugi's successes. Your so-called talent isn't real, only a mirage created through luck."

"Is this real enough for you?" In an instant, Jounouchi's right hook makes direct contact with Kaiba's mouth, busting his lip. Kaiba recoils from the hit, feeling a rush of pain beginning to throb heavily throughout his body. He blinks back his shock, realizing that Jounouchi has actually inflicted damage.

The anger immediately drains from Jounouchi's face as his shoulders slump like a deflated balloon. He glances at the trickle of blood streaming from Kaiba's mouth. "Oh shit Kaiba, I'm sorry."

It thunders once more. Kaiba slowly meets Jounouchi's eyes, his vision becoming more distorted from the rain dripping from his bangs. "You're sorry?" he repeats, his tone unreadable. He can hear his heart thrumming inside his chest, or is that the thunder? He takes a step forward. "No, no you're not sorry, at least not yet." He grabs a fistful of Jounouchi's shirt, drawing him in. "You will _regret_ hitting me."

The group finally rushes over to the scene. Immediately Honda slices between the two, glaring at both of them. "What's the matter with you guys? Didn't you hear us calling for you? We lost you while you were fighting like a bunch of rabid animals! You both need to calm the hell down." His voice is angry, yet edges towards concerned as he eyes the duo. "What happened?"

Kaiba absently wipes at his mouth. "Nothing." He turns away, perhaps to head back to the bus, then stops.

Surprisingly, it's Jounouchi who voices his thought. "Where are we?" In the heat of their argument, both failed to realize that they had somehow wandered in a cornfield, closing them off from the rest stop.

Yuugi shakes his head. "When you two ran off like that, we had a hard time finding you through all this." He swipes at nearby stalks, which barely move from the touch. "It's so dense in here you can't see a thing."

Bakura looks slightly nervous as he appears beside Yuugi. "And now _we're_ lost."

Kaiba glares at the group. "What? _Lost_? We couldn't be more than ten feet into this field."

"That's what we thought too," Yuugi says. "Until we started backtracking to make sure we knew where we were. We can't find a way out."

Kaiba refuses to accept this answer. "That's because you're all morons," he says flatly. "Come on, it obviously can't be far." He stomps past the group, who, after exchanging looks, decide to follow. He wipes at his mouth again, silently cursing as he feels the blood still steadily dribbling down his chin. The rain isn't helping either, dripping off his face as red droplets.

"Wow, you really nailed him good," Honda whispers to Jounouchi. He makes sure his voice is out of Anzu's earshot. "Nice."

"I feel sort of sorry for him," Bakura comments from behind the duo. Both flinch at the teen's unexpected remark. He is just so quiet, one can never be prepared when he chooses to speak.

"Why?" Jounouchi asks warily.

"Well he's bleeding, for one," Bakura offers. "But I think he's just misunderstood."

Both teens snort at this. "Yeah, you tell him that," Jounouchi grins. "I'm sure he'd love to find out that he's _pitied_."

The pale teen runs a hand through his soaked hair and shrugs. "I was simply stating what I thought."

If it could possibly rain harder, it does. Waterfalls of rain cascade from the sky, thoroughly drenching the teens. Various curses exchange among them while they press on through the cornfield. Walking transitions into jogging, which furthers into sprinting as the weather worsens.

Amidst the sound of rain pelting the ground, the group could barely hear it when someone's agitated voice announces, "Enough of this already," accompanied by a deafening blast, which sounds vaguely reminiscent to the thunder itself. However, it is when they notice entire rows of cornstalks cleared out in front of them, charred to a crisp, that they know it isn't simply the weather's doing. Everyone slows to a stop and turns around.

With the Sennen ring still glowing, Bakura stands tall with his fingers splayed out. A maniacal grin twists his face as he raises his hands in defense. "What?" he asks in feigned innocence. "We were taking too long."

The group still gapes at him, at a loss for what to say. As it turns out, he _did_ actually help them, for they could now see the rest stop residing a short distance away.

"Uh, thanks…" Jounouchi manages. No doubt about it, it doesn't take Bakura's change in hairstyle (as if the roots of his hair have been electrocuted…) or his partially insane gaze, or even the attack from his Sennen ring to indicate the ancient spirit assumed control. All it takes is one word to pass his lips. His arrogant drawl matches or even surpasses Kaiba's usual tone of voice, comparing nothing to the eccentric but soft-spoken Ryou Bakura.

Instantaneously, Yuugi's posture changes as his entire demeanor transforms. His crimson eyes narrow at the spirit of the ring. "Why are you interfering?" the other Yuugi demands. He places his hands on his hips, as if an explanation is entitled to him. Notably, Anzu's gaze flits over to Yuugi as her body freezes.

The spirit of the ring eyes the other Yuugi curiously. "Why not? I don't see you helping much."

A ghost of a smile curves the other Yuugi's lips. "The notion of _you_ 'helping' anything doesn't seem quite right."

"Nor does this situation."

The other Yuugi leans back, considering. Much to everyone's surprise, he nods once. "Unfortunately, I agree."

"What do you mean, this doesn't seem right?" Anzu asks reluctantly. A powerful gust of wind causes the group to flinch.

"I can't articulate my thoughts just yet," the other Yuugi answers. His eyes follow the cleared path the Sennen ring created as he begins to walk through it. "But I suggest we get back on the bus before anything happens."

"Oh, _you_ suggest," the other Bakura says mockingly. "Well then by all means." The other Yuugi ignores this as he proceeds down the path. Soon after, the group follows.

"This is beyond ridiculous," Kaiba growls to no one in particular. "I merely wished to call the mutt out on his barbaric tendencies, and by some onslaught of rotten luck, I get drenched in the rain with these losers."

"Speak for yourself," Jounouchi says bitterly. The mood quickly transitions to conversational. "Hey Kaiba, do you believe in the Sennen items now? Did you see what Bakura's ring just did? What d'you say to that?"

Kaiba frowns. "I saw that a bunch of ill-fated cornstalks got wiped away."

"Meaning?" Jounouchi presses.

"Meaning that this is one hell of a storm. Good thing the lightening didn't strike anybody. Would have been nice if it hit you, though."

The blond shoots Kaiba a look. "See, now you're just asking for a fight."

"My apologies, is one punch in the face not enough for you?"

Jounouchi scratches the back of his head. "Er, yeah, again, sorry about that."

Kaiba doesn't even glance over. "Don't be." He smirks. "I'll get you back. Maybe even worse."

The blond is about to come up with a retort, but gets cut off from Anzu's cry of horror. His eyes widen, finally bursting out of the cornfield and onto the gravel parking lot, to where a very distressed Anzu stands. The other Yuugi is next to her, looking very grave. The rest of the group soon emerges from the stalks, moments after Jounouchi.

"What? What is it?" Jounouchi demands. His gaze rapidly darts around until he finds out the answer for himself. A wave of terror washes over him, drenching his bones deeper than the rain ever could.

It's the other Bakura who chooses to announce the obvious, his voice edging on slightly accusatory.

"The bus left without us."

* * *

A/N: You'll notice that this story is written in present tense. It's a new writing trend that has recently taken hold of the fiction world. And personally, I'm just experimenting with it, to see if it affects the immediacy of the story. My hope, since scary things will be happening, is that the present tense will better bring the reader into the story so they learn about the events as the characters do. Let me know if you like the present tense for this story, as opposed to the traditional past tense.

Of course, anything you'd like to say in a **review** would be very much appreciated :)


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